Don’t get your pixels in a twist

Do you know enough about tracking users engaging with your social media activity?

Without a tracking pixel implemented on a website, you cannot retarget users who land on your site, create website user lookalike audiences or exclude users who have already visited/converted within a campaign – it means that your paid campaigns, at least, will be less efficient overall.

What is a tracking pixel?

A pixel is a unit of measurement for images size, and a tracking pixel is a tiny 1×1 graphic which tracks web traffic, site conversions, user behaviour etc at the site’s server level. It’s hidden from view when implemented, by the website developer.

No, not a cookie

Cookies also track behaviour, but crucially the difference is where the information is kept. Pixels send data to servers, cookies are saved within the browser – so a pixel can follow a user across devices, but a cookie cannot. Additionally, cookies can be blocked.

Installing a tracking pixel

For social, each platform provides slightly different instructions, but the general process is:

Visit the relevant platform

Generate the pixel

Provide to the marketing department

The code should be provided to the web developer/team (it may require HTML knowledge)

Web develop implements – it should be added to the header for every page on their site (via a tag manager if appropriate)

If the site has Google Tag Manager implemented on their site, the web developer will find things easier as it’s a much faster job to add the code.

Tracking conversions

The pixel alone simply tracks page visits, so if there’s a conversion of some kind… purchase, report download etc, you’ll need the web developer to set these up as well – it can be done at the same time, or after the initial pixel has been implemented. In complex cases, you may wish to create a custom retargeting audience using conversions only from one URL, you need to specify that in the ads build.

Having worked with immediate future for almost two years, it is clear that their social media knowledge is outstanding. They have constantly given strong counsel that has informed our strategy and aligned with our business goals. Their enthusiastic team has ‘raised the bar’ on social media management and their ideas and constant innovation delivers results beyond expectation

Adam WoolfMarketing director,
Indesit Company

IF has been a great support to us in developing our social presence across Europe, adding value with their thorough knowledge and skills in both planning and executing social activity.
I have no hesitation in highly recommending IF as a partner in Social Media strategy development. The team are conscientious, hardworking and always reliable.

Ruth CoatesCross Channel Marketing
Staples Europe

I was impressed with the impact of immediate future’s activity, the reach and influence that has been created through the tactics we employed was beyond our expectations. As a direct consequence we now see social media as an integral part of bmibaby’s activity.

Katherine HillHead of Communications, bmibaby

immediate future have been instrumental in helping us shape our social media strategy. Their rigorous process and strategic thinking helped us to begin to uncover the value of social media to our business.
This has given us the business case for more investment and deeper integration. IF are experts and I would recommend them to any brand who need guidance on social media.

Mandy WardHead of Digital Marketing, JD Williams Group

At every level, from search engine visibility and brand reputation to driving visits and sales to our website, the immediate future team amplified our online communications, generated advocacy and delivered tangible results.

Chris BishopOnline Marketing Manager, Hotel Chocolat

2013 was a major year in the development of our presence on social media and the way we engage with online audiences. We brought on immediate future, who have done fantastic work with us in building the quality of our content, the tone of voice we use and the strategy in how we use social media channels.This has resulted in substantial increases to our basic communities, our reach and our quality of engagement.